


Time to mix drinks and change lives.

by CrookedHitman



Series: Time To Mix Drinks And Change Lives [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2018-12-04 14:12:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11556870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrookedHitman/pseuds/CrookedHitman
Summary: Inspired by a post on Tumblr, about a living in an old, abandoned lighthouse. May or may not feature Jill Stingray and friends off of Va-11 Hall-A





	1. Home - Redux

 

 

 

>   
>  _Every line and every abrasion_  
>  _This took my life to make, this took my life to make._

You ever wonder what kind of decisions lead you to where you are now? I honestly don't want to think about what I did to end up at this lighthouse, but hell if I haven't made it feel like home. Close enough to the City, so I could get what I needed to live comfortably. And it was connected to all the basic amenities one would need to exist in today's world. Electricity, water, sewage, internet connection. All the things a person needs to be relevant today. God, what the hell are you supposed to write in these things? I never was much for writing, much less a daily journal. Hey, maybe this will change my mind. After all, you never know what you can do until you're properly challenged.

Since it's my first day. I'll tell you about my past. I grew up in Rabwah, Pakistan. Well I was born there, but moved to Santa Monica. Two years after my birth, my parents had my baby sister. But when I was 5, we had to move, for some reason I never asked about. Anyway, we move to Rabwah. I stayed there for 5 years. It was pretty terrible. It was incredibly hot. Electricity was off more often than not. My cousins, whom I had to live with, were awful. But both of they're parents died while I was living there. The conditions were less than stellar, I actually had a ton of fun. Some amazing foods and awesome people. My current affinity for technology basically developed there, my skin color is a result of that, I think. Also, my hate for my father started life there. One day, he was dropping me off to school. After doing so, he began walking in the other direction to home. Back then I didn't understand why he did that. Now I know he walked, or took some transport to an airport and booked it. I think I probably cried at some point after that. I don't remember honestly. A year or two went by, and it was filled with Skype calls to him. The purpose of this was to get enough money to bring us over to the US. A process which took longer than it should have. Over the 5 or so years, we made several trips to embassies all over Pakistan, waiting for a long time in between each. Eventually we had our three passports. We made one large journey to Islamabad, where we stayed with some relatives. Then early one morning, we left for the airport. The sun wasn't out and it was really cold.  
I think it was closed, because I remember waiting outside. Anyway, we got inside, then some things I don't remember happened, and we got to boarding the plane. It was a flight with a 24 hour layover. Yeah 24 hours, a whole day. But it was the most amazing day of my life. We explored the hell out of that terminal in Bangkok. Then we left for LAX. Another amazing flight. Third time flying. We landed in LAX at 2-3 am. Then he picked us up. I saw LA at its most beautiful, the first time I saw it. Turns out we actually lived in North Hills, a nice place, but not actually LA. Shock surprise, an idiot with barely a high school diploma and the worst attitude can't get a nice enough job to support a family of 4 in a really expensive place like LA. We manged to live there for 3 and a bit years. Before we had to move out, because rent.

Maybe, I will continue this story a little later on. But right now I'm way too tired, and should be asleep. Goodbye for the night.

-Rylie


	2. Under My Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So you can get an idea of the two main characters in this piece. Will be updated as the story goes on, and I get new ideas for the characters.

>   
> _With my heart on the floor_  
>  _And my love out the doo_ r

It's pretty good in the year 2027. Clean energy, nanomachines, augmentation, mechanical limbs, no Nazi Presidents. Space travel is on the horizon (ha). I didn't think it could get this good, I though it would be for future generations to enjoy, as I had enjoyed the tech of the early 2000's. But nope, here I am with a right arm that can lift more that most, and nanomachines flowing around my body ensuring nothing terrible happens. Bones can still break, but they heal very quickly. Nanomachines also get rid of body odor, negating the need for showers. State of the art water filters can turn sea water into drinkable liquid within hours, tanks ensure we always have water on hand. Building materials have improved to withstand almost any disaster. Trees can harvest tons more CO2, acting like atmosphere scrubbers. The fact that they light up is none too shabby. Quantum computers, amazing as they were, when the cost was ridiculous. Now they're a bit less expensive. Anyhow, 'Rylie, what do you do in that ridiculous house of yours?' I hear you cry... in the future... Well future person who probably doesn't give a damn. I try my best to survive. Considering I have access to most modern amenities, that isn't hard. But for some reason I grow my own food, just enough for 1 person, anything that's practical of course. I wouldn't grow an entire field of wheat or rice, I have Indian stores to thank for giving me actual proper rice as would be enjoyed in my homeland. Anyway, I grow a lot of my own food, do any construction, cleaning, cooking, etc. To relax, I play guitar, either writing or learning songs, and play some vidya games or fish, or work on my little flower garden. Every now and then I have some extra things left over, fresh produce, or pretty flowers, so I go into the city, in my rather ridiculous old body pickup truck, (which looks like Chloe's truck from Life is Strange, but with an all modern chassis,) and set up a stall, where I give away said items. A donations box sits at the front, people occasionally drop stuff in there. After hocking(not hawking) my wares I usually return home, but today I chose to pack up and head to a bookstore, and decided to write this day's journal.

* * *

  
As if Mother Nature was reading her thoughts, it started to rain, just adding to the immeasurable amount of aesthetic happening in that scene. The soft glow of a lit cigarette added even more (did she not mention her lungs can filter out a surprising amount of toxins?). She eventually stood, and began strolling aimlessly through the bookshelves, looking at the hundreds of book spines, reading the title and author, hoping one would catch her eye. Doing the exact opposite of what you're normally supposed to. In time, one did find her, something written by a "Best-selling author of the New York Times". She didn't exactly care for the words themselves, instead she wanted to escape in her own mind, from the crushing, and often depressing reality that surrounded her daily. Putting herself in another's shoes, was just one way she did it. A chapter or two in, she decided to buy it. Another for the pile, or over stuffed bookshelf, what ever you find fitting. It was a small thing, small enough to be stuffed in one of giant inner pockets, that lined her fitted leather jacket. Rylie didn't carry much on her, a pen, phone, a few folded sheets of paper, a surprisingly sharp little knife, wallet with assorted items, and keys. A short walk to her truck and she got in and sat inside for a few moments. It was nearly 6:30, the sun just beginning to set, rain letting up, a few stray droplets still fell from the sky. "God, that's gorgeous.", she murmured to herself. Rylie then decided to time-lapse her journey home, which wouldn't take more than half an hour. A little plastic holder, just wide enough for her phone, sat on the dashboard, slotting said phone into the holder, she opened the camera, switched over to the time-lapse mode, and hit record. 30 minutes latern she was home. Stopping the recording, she found the resulting footage to be almost 10 minutes. Satisfied, she headed inside, only to be greeted by a rather humid room, and almost complete silence. 'Why do you still expect someone to be in here?' She asked herself. Removing her shoes and jacket, she set about preparing the nights dinner, something simple. "I think I still have some... " Trailing off, she found some boiled rice and chicken in the fridge. The tattooed gal mixed half of the cold chicken into the rice and threw it in the microwave for a minute. While that was cooking, she pulled two containers of ice-cream out of the freezer, one her own creation and one store-bought, and left them on the counter to thaw. 3 beeps signaled the end of the microwave cycle. "I should remove the damned beeper, replace it with something more pleasant." Likely, it wouldn't happen. More often than not, she was occupied with something more important. The girl opened up a cabinet to retrieve several spices, ketchup and hot sauce. Pouring them in, she grabbed a fork and mixed it up. She went to sit down in front of a rather large T.V., in a handmade couch with lovely little coffee table in front of it. 

* * *

  
I didn't have cable, which comes as a surprise to most people. "What! How do you live without it?" They usually exclaim. "I have Netflix and YouTube, and the entire internet." I often counter. Anyway, I fired up YouTube, checking for anything vaguely interesting. After I finish eating, I poured out a few scoops o' the cream of ice, for no particular reason I thought this was best enjoyed outside, so I headed out the front, locked everything up. I sat down facing the sea. A lovely full moon shimmered over onyx waves. Taking my time, I fully enjoyed the view, and the cool night air blowing through my hair, and the trees I had planted. The only thing I wanted more was to have someone to share that view with, someone I loved. 'Fuck, you know its never going to happen, right?' I thought to myself. 'I mean,really, you fell in love with one girl and you fucked if up. You knew she was straight, you knew she couldn't love you back you knew she had a boyfriend.' My mind recalled all those awful memories. "Damn it! I know I fucked up! Why the hell did you have go remind me of that?" I screamed, at myself. Safe to say, anyone watching, would have thought I was crazy. Trying to forget all of that, I walked back into my house and washed up my dishes. Then I headed towards my bedroom. A scream. Then some curses. I rummaged in my pockets for my flashlight and knife, in case I needed to stab some prick, and headed outside. "Hey! Who's out here?" Hopefully, not sounding as scared as I felt. I could handle myself in a fight, but I'd rather not. The voice sounded female. I placed the sound to be near the trail that ran along the shore. Sure enough there was a person lying on the floor, in the fetal position, clutching one ankle, and the other arm around their ribs.   
"Hey, what happened? Are you OK?" I yelled out, scanning around for any other people, wary of traps.   
"Just fuckin' peachy. What the hell are waiting for?! I'm bleeding out here!" the girl yelled back. Acting quickly, I put the flashlight away, keeping my knife in one hand. Getting down one knee, I started a scan on my Omni-tool, as well as a visual inspection.

"What have you been doing? Fighting a damn bear? God, you've got more than a couple broken bones, lacerations, and a sprained ankle." I said to her, beginning to lift her up and carry her back to my house.

"Well it's... a long story... How did you know about all my injuries?" she replied. It was barely audible though. She was just about to lose consciousness.

"No no no no, stay with me! SAM help me out!" setting her down, I followed Sam's instructions. It wasn't more than a patch job, so it wasn't gonna hold for long, maybe long enough to get her to the house. Lights turned on immediately as I walked, well hobbled, through the door. Setting her down on my couch, I frantically searched for my medical kit, a doctor bag filled with enough tools to get anyone stable. "Stop the bleeding first, then drain her lung, it is filling with fluid." SAM said. I followed his instructions and soon enough, the girl was stable.

"Good job, Rylie. You did well." the AI remarked afterward.   
"Glad you think so. I nearly vomited, not to mention my hands were shaking throughout the whole thing." I pointed out to him.   
"Regardless, she should be awake in about an hour, her body, and the nano-machines are working together to repair her body far quicker than normal." SAM reminded me.   
"Goodnees me, I'm tired. Wake me up in an hour, yeah?" Collapsing on a nearby armchair. 


	3. Stitches.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now set in the not too distant future!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SAM is the AI from Mass Effect :Andromeda  
> Rylie uses an Omni-tool from the same game series

> _Now that I'm without your kisses_   
>  _I'll be needin' stitches_

Eyes snapping open. I heard SAM say, "Rylie, the patient is about to wake up, I suggest gathering some food and water."  
"Ha, 'patient'. Although I don't know what else to call her." I scoffed. I began to gather said items, a tall glass of ice water, and a bit of rice, since it'll go down easy. I set the tray down on the coffee table in front of the girl, and acquired a chair to sit near her. Eventually, she stirred from sleep.   
"Mornin'." I said, and was rewarded with a surprised look.  
"What?! How long has it been?" trying to get up, and failing.   
"Woah, don't do that, you're still injured. That was a joke. Though it has been a couple hours." I got up and guided her to sit up. She reached out for the glass and I handed it to her.   
"Can I get your name? I'm Rylie." I asked, after she finished drinking.   
"Call me Muna. Nice to meet you Rylie, and... Thanks, for saving my life." She told me, a little shyly.   
"Oh, don't worry about it. I do that all the time, you know, saving some anonymous persons life after something probably life threatening happens to them." I shot back, sarcastic little devil I was.   
She giggled and my heart gave way then, dumbstruck for about 30 seconds, then hit by a massive wall of gay.   
"No, I owe you so much, seriously. Speaking of which, I really do not want to talk about what happened. At all. Maybe later." Muna said.   
"Yup, totally understand. So, how are you? Both mentally and physically." I asked the dark-skinned beauty sitting across from me. 

* * *

  
The two women talked for some time, becoming fast friends. Rylie couldn't get past her stunning beauty, graceful body, and amazing blue eyes. Muna told her about her time as a soldier, how she retired to a simple life as a freelance nature photographer. And of her rather large family which lived near to each other. While they were quite religious, she didn't exactly follow in their footsteps, yet they love her all the same, come any holidays. They talked of their past, their childhood, of what the future held, for them and the world. After about 2 hours, Rylie said, "You must be tired, let's go. You can sleep in my bed. I don't really have any other places for you to sleep." She said getting up, gathering up the dishes to put them in the sink. Then she led Muna to her bedroom.   
"Are you trying to seduce me, Rylie? Because you'll have to buy me dinner first."

* * *

  
I laughed, but secretly, I wondered. 'Is she serious? God, I hope she's serious.'  
"No, mi'lady, I'm doing nothing of the sort, " I replied in a posh British accent, "Also I cooked that myself, does that not count?" adding on, in my normal voice.   
Then I heard her laugh, a proper one, from the stomach, "I suppose it does count, although I suspect that it was leftovers. Mi'lady." She noted.   
"Fine. Here we are, do you prefer a particular side of the bed? Cause I usually just sleep in the middle. Though, my stuff is all on the right hand night stand." I explained leading her inside the room. I also made a mental note to give her a full tour of the space tomorrow.  
"I wouldn't wanna bother you so I'll take the left hand side. Say where's the bathroom? I need to use the toilet and clean up a bit." She asked.  
"Oh yes, of course. If you'll follow me, it's right though here," going through the only other door in the room, I lead her into the bathroom. Quite spacious, a nice toilet, a bath/shower combo and a 3 mirror medicine cabinet.

"Nice. You said you built this?" Muna commented upon entering the room.   
"Well, kinda. I helped with the building, and designed every addition to this place. Er, anyway I have a spare toothbrush in one of these drawers, and a towel too if you want to take a shower." I told her, and pulled out said items. 

"Damn, color me impressed. Are you always this nice?" Whistled the lovely lady, and I swear, my heart skipped a beat. I chuckled a bit before leaving the room and closing the door. 

"Oh, I'll be out here in case, something happens, you feel weird just tell me." I called out to her, hearing the faucet turn on. After about an hour, which was filled with the sound of running water, and my brain going into overdrive just imagining her totally nak- whoa there, let's keep this PG.

"Ah, shit. Hey, Rylie,I don't suppose you have any spare clothes you can lend me? Mine are a bit... blood-stained." She asked, after presumably drying off.

‘Just think, water running down her shap-’ I'm gonna stop you right there brain.

“Can't believe I forgot that... Yeah, I got you. Say, what kinda clothes do you prefer?” I questioned.

“Oh, um, well... Just some jeans and a t-shirt would be fine.” Muna called back. ”

"Jeans and a t-shirt, eh? Would've thought you would go for sweatpants, " I remarked, "or are you like me and go to sleep wearing whatever."

She laughed again, quickly becoming one of my favorite sounds, and said, “Oh, yeah, totally. Never really understood the whole ‘night clothes’ thing. Sweat and body odor doesn't build up anymore, so why bother.”

“Well, I live on my own, and am kind of lazy, and it's also kind of a habit.” I explained to her, passing the folded clothes through a cracked door. After a few minutes, I heard a gentle mumbling coming from the bathroom, as if Muna was talking to herself. That wasn't too worrying, so I waited. And sure enough, nothing terrible happened. Muna walked through the door, running a towel through her hair.  
“Where can I put this?” She asked holding the towel up.

“On those hooks over the door. ” I said pointing at the bathroom door. “Shall we?” I then asked, gesturing towards the bed.

“Yes, I think so. Kinda really tired. Who would have thought that healing an a stab wound and a sprain would take so much energy.” The dark-haired beauty joked.

“I should warn you, I find it impossible to sleep before 2. I guess I flipped my sleep schedule.” I warned. It started happening around when I was 19. Which wasn't exactly great, but what can you do. Before heading to the bed I went to my dresser, opening the bottom-most drawer, I retrieved a second blanket. It get kinda cold so I like to bundle up.

“Hey, here. I brought you a clean one. Plus I like mine to wrap me in a very specific way." I said, throwing it gently on to her side.

“Heh, okay. Goodnight Rylie.” Muna said, tucking herself into bed.

“Goodnight, Muna. ” I almost whispered, a smile on my face. 


	4. Lovesick

> _Ooh, I knew your love before I kissed you_   
>  _And now you have only made me miss you_

As it turned out, I couldnt sleep and it was only 10. So I did what I had been doing for nearly a decade now. Occupying my mind with work. Usually something creative, designing something, or straight up drawing. Or until recently, writing, sometimes Journaling or other creative writing. There was just enough light for me to see, and with such a beautiful model in the room I decided to break out my drawing stuff. A sketchbook and some pencils. My augmented arm helped with precision and accuracy. And in about 3 hours I had several sketches. She was actually quite stable, both as a model and health wise. I periodically checked her status through out the night. Still not being able to sleep I got up and walked to the huge bay window in my room. Which faced the sea, and brought a ton of light into my room. I then pulled out a pen and started doodling on my arm. A complex but abstract web of lines emerged within minutes. I decided to spice it up by adding some more color. Getting bored of that, I started another drawing, of the coast this time. Featuring, Muna and I. Just chilling under an umbrellaw. Eventually, I felt a little more than sleepy.   
"Time for bed, I suppose.” I said to no one in particular, my voice sounding strange, after hours of not speaking. SAM spoke up too, with a question.

“Rylie, are you in love with Ms. Muna? I have noticed your pulse raising everytime you look at her, and eyes dilating.”

“Last time I said I loved someone, it ended terribly. So, I'd say it's a crush... ” I replied, trailing off. “Though I do wonder. Anyway, goodnight SAM."

* * *

 

Waking up at 6 after sleeping at 2 is a bit ridiculous. But somehow I manage it. I watched the sun rise through my kitchen window, as I prepared breakfast for two, for the first time.   
“Breakfast in bed? Nah that would be too cheesy, and what actual girlfriends do.” I muttered to myself, slightly bitter. I decided on a staple, eggs and toast. No bacon, cause I never really tried it, and being from a Muslim family (now an atheist) never had the inclination to try it. After setting the table, I headed back to my bedroom. Set to work on waking Muna.  
“Hey, Muna. Wake up, I made breakfast, get ready. ”

“Mmmmmm.... 5 more minutessh..... ” I managed to hear.

“Okay, better be ready in 5, or I'm gonna eat it all.” I joked, leaving for the kitchen.

“Hey, Rylie. Gods, I'm really sore. ” said Muna, walking down the stairs, rubbing an eye with one hand on her ribs.

“Ooooh, I'm sorry. I think I have some painkillers around here. Plus side though, you'll have a sick scar.” I replied, immediately getting up and searching through several drawers before pulling out a little bottle. “Here. And a glass of water. ”

A little giggle, “Mmm, True. And thank you so much. I don't think I've ever met someone as caring as you. Really it's amazing. ” A genuine compliment, don't think I've heard one for quite a while. I was quite rubbish with Emotions™, so it was a big surprise to find a lone tear falling down my cheek. Quickly running it away before she saw I replied,

“I read somewhere ‘Treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight’ and that really resonated with me. Also I met some really shitty people in my time and I thought,‘ Why not be nice to everyone I don't know.'"  
Heart beating like a trip hammer, I looked down at my plate, avoiding eye contact.

“Wow, that's one hell of an answer.” She stated, clearly impressed, then her eyes opened wide and she gasped, “Oh my god, I completely forgot about my family, they'll be worried sick, my phone's dead, no wonder I haven't gotten any messages.”

“I did wonder, but don't worry. I can take you around to your house, as well as anything else you might need. ” I tried to console the girl across the table. Normally calm demeanor giving way to hysterics. It wasn't really working, so I got up, went around to her side, and pulled her into an embrace.

“Hey, now. You're an adult. They're adults. They won't be that worried that you didn't check in for so long. Tell you what let's go there right now. ” I said to the poor girl. She took a deep breath, “No, it's ok. We don't need to go. Not right now. I do wanna report this to the police.”

“OK, we can go whenever you want. How about the station, when do you wanna go there?” I asked stepping back. She sat down and looked up at me. “Whenever it's relatively empty.”

“Hmm, so, afternoon-ish. Cool cool. We got sometime to kill, you wanna ask me something? ”

* * *

 

Muna did have a few questions for Rylie. And vice versa,   
“Hey, what's that necklace about?” Rylie asked, noticing it hanging fairly low.

“Well, I loved someone. She gave me it. It's a moon, cause y'know my name's Muna. One day, she was home alone. I was going to meet her. I get there and knock on the door. No one answers. So I waited... ”

* * *

 

A young Muna Young, waited for a few minutes. She was going to take her girlfriend, Laura Tsao, for their third date. She tried the door knob. It didn't open. Sending a text, Muna waited for a few more minutes. After no answer, she started looking for the hidden spare key. She found it and opened the door. Nothing unusual was inside. She began searching the house periodically calling out her name. Most of the lights were off, consistent with the fact only one person lived here. Moving quietly as she could, Muna searched every room. Armed with a kitchen knife and phone flashlight. Bathroom, clear. Guest room clear, kitchen and combined living room, also clear. Only her bedroom to check. “Babe, you in here? Fucking better be.” Silence. Slowly she opened the door, knife at the ready. It was dark in this room, Laura had her table lamp on after the sun, barely lighting the room. Muna felt for the main light switch, putting her phone away. Flipping the switch, she did a slow scan of the room. Nothing in here either. The last room to check was a tiny bathroom attached to this room, only accessible via this room. Leaning against the door, she tried to listen for any sound coming from the other side. Nothing, she opened the door, and to say she was shocked, would be an understatement. It took a few seconds for Muna to process the scene before her. A bathtub filled with with water. A body in the bath tub. Slashed wrists. Tears steamed down Muna's cheeks, and she tried not to puke. With shaking hands she called 911.

"911, what is your emergency?" the person asked.   
“Yes, I'd like to report a murder...” Muna said, giving them the address, then spending the next few minutes on the toilet crying her eyes out. Sirens were heard outside, and a knocking a minute or two later. Muna went to front door and let the officers in. She lead them to the room, not heading in, for she didn't want to see the body again. Since she was the only person there, one of the officers sat her down and asked some questions. She answered them as best she could.

“Now, I only looked at the scene for a short time. And that looks like a suicide to me. What reasons do you have for believing that it's a murder?”

“She wouldn't kill herself, we were going to go on a date tonight. It could have been framed as a suicide, when some really broke in and killed her.” Muna said to the officer, shortly before breaking down again. All out sobbing on the table in the kitchen. Crime scene investigators were brought on scene. Took them about 30 minutes to come to same conclusion Muna did.   
“Seems you were correct. Due to the amount of nanomachines being lower than normal, we deduce that some of them attached themselves to the murderer to aid in detection. Although the motive is still unclear. We will scan for the signal and likely catch them. If it was done by an amature they wouldn't know about that little detail.”

“It looks more like a professional job, considering nothing was disturbed and the method.”

* * *

 

Muna finished with a heavy sigh. She was avoiding my gaze, looking down. She was almost definitely crying, who wouldn't be after reliving something like that. We were sitting across from each other, but after this, I moved over to the couch where she was sitting. I pulled her into an embrace. She turned into me, and proceeded to cry for a while.

“God, I'm so sorry.” I whispered. I was pretty terrible with emotions, especially expressing them.

“So, what the story behind yours?” She asked, smiling a bit. She nodded her head towards the one that was visible, two angel wings suspended from thin, cheap chain.

“Nothing quite like yours. I bought it myself. I always wanted to make it mean something to me. It never happened. Now I don't really care. You wanna see the other one I wear all the time?” Her eyes lighting up at the question.

“You have another?!” Muna exclaimed, clearly eager to see it.

* * *

 

Rylie reached up behind her neck, and undid latch to retrieve her necklace. A nondescript ball chain was weighed down with a substantial amount of metal pendants. As she handed it to Muna, the metal made a gentle jingling sound.

“Wow, that's a ton of metal. Come on, tell me you have a story behind these.“ Muna asked, inspecting each one.

“Yeah, um, just pick one, and I'll tell you all about it. ” and she did.

* * *

 

The order is as viewed from the front, when Rylie is wearing it, left to right for her.

  * An amethyst pendant from AmeliaStardust. For her birth month, February. 
  * An Aquarius pendant from Midnightkitty.co I'll let you guess what that's about.
  * A gas tank key, for (after googling, for a lawnmower.) Found during a walk home from work. 
  * A custom dog tag, made by laser engraving. Done by her own hands. Basically Jane Shepard's tag from ME, or what she imagined them to look like. 
  * A Salesforce pride tag. No clue where it came from. 
  * A Perry Ellis tag, from a leather bag. The bag was unsecured so, she took it. 
  * A tiny sharp metal tool to open the Sim/SD card tray of a Samsung Galaxy phone. 
  * A metal lattice work heart. Bought from Walmart. 
  * A little terribly made pedant that says, “My story doesn't end here;” Meant to represent all of those almost committed suicide. 
  * An Eifell Tower pendant. Fell off a bookmark. 
  * A Monster can tab. For no apparent reason.



* * *

 

“Wow, that's pretty awesome.” Muna remarked after hearing the tiny story behind each one.

“Thanks... For listening. Would you look at that? It's almost 3.” Rylie said, looking at her wrist mounted Omni tool.

“Already? Well, give me some time to get ready, yeah?” Muna asked a little surprised. Then getting up and heading to the bathroom.

“Sure, I need to get ready too. You go ahead though. No rush. ” Rylie said nonchalantly, lounging around on the couch. She had reattached her necklace. Her phone was running a bit low, she put it on the side table. It was. secretly wired to be a wireless charger, charging most phones in a few minutes, due to them having aluminum-ion batteries. Muna padded down the stairs looking lovely in her borrowed clothes, ‘I might let her keep them, she looks stunning... ’ Rylie thought. What was she wearing you ask? Some skinnies and a tank. Exposing a her toned shoulders and arms... To say Rylie was drooling wouldn't be too far from the truth. She took a few moments to regain (re _ **‘gay’**_ n you might say) her composure.   
"R-ready to go? We'll be taking my bike, I found an old helmet i dont use." She managed, tossing the helm to her.   
“Sweet, let's go. ” Muna replied. Rylie followed her out the door having thrown on her Chucks and her leather jacket.


	5. Trainwreck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Muna and Rylie's second full day together.

> Hey, I heard it from the state,
> 
> They told me you were never gonna let me get away

It was nearly silent after I turned the engine off. The normal quiet that surrounded the lighthouse sounding strange after listening to engine screaming for the last hour. Even with helmets it was fairly loud. I led Muna back inside. Unlocking the door with a positively ancient skeleton key, an anti picking and bumping measure. Though that didn't stop someone kicking the door down. A custom alarm system with a little surprise waited for any one who wanted to break in. And to top it all off, it was all deactivated with an NFC chip embedded in my hand, the one that was actual flesh. Encrypted to all hell of course. CCTV, motion detectors, and doors with optional motor control, bullet proof shutters, and a panic room were also installed here. Why all the security? Police don't patrol as often here. Also, due to a Tragic and Mysterious Past™ I may have some mercenaries chasing me.  Ignoring that, I took off my shoes and jacket, asking Muna to do the same. The floor in my place was either hardwood, tile, or carpet. Originally it was concrete and because I hate the feeling of bare feet on concrete, I replaced it as soon as I could. 

 

“So, what's for lunch?” Muna said jumping over the couch where I was sitting, landing next to me. 

 

“You know, we should have gotten something while we were out, but I guess we can order in now. I'm a little too tired to make something.” I replied, leaning my head back.

 

“Sounds good, since you’ve been so nice, I'll pay, whatever you want. Don't get too much though, I'm not made of money.” She joked, getting a little closer. 

 

“Honestly, it's not a problem, I can pay, besides I feel like I owe you somehow. Let's get In’N’Out, haven't had it in a while.” I asked SAM to order and we filled the time by asking each other questions. 

 

The food arrived and I got up to receive it, we then sat down and ate it. Muna had completely forgotten about her phone, and when she checked it, she began to panic a little. 

 

“Oh God, that's a lot of texts and missed calls! I don't know if I can handle this, or going back home… god damn it, why the hell did this have to happen.” She nearly descended into a full blown panic attack, and I managed to rescue her from it. 

 

“Hey now, calm down, it's gonna be fine, I promise they won't freak out, and we can deal with all this later. Right now, you just enjoy your food, and calm down. It's gonna be fine. It’ll be okay.” I kept repeating that over and over again, stroking her back and hair to pull her back from the edge. 

 

“Okay, I think I'm good now. Thank you… just… for everything you've done in the short amount of time I've known you.” She said after a while, and then hugged me.

 

“Uh, well this was unexpected, I'm glad you're feeling better.” I said, surprised. I eventually remembered to return the hug instead of just sitting there ramrod straight.

 

“Hardly. You have taken extremely good care of me for the past day. This is the least you deserve. I will definitely pay you back further.” She told me, holding me at arm's length, hands on my shoulders, thumbs tracing my collarbones, a gentle giggle gracing my ears. My breathing picked up. 'She really doesn’t know what she’s doing to me, huh?’ 

 

“You don't have to pay back anything. Really don't worry about it. Food’s getting cold.” I said, in an attempt to stop whatever was happening.

 

“Oh right, yeah.” She stuffed her mouth with fries,”I'm absolutely paying you back for all this, make no mistake.” Punctuating the statement with a fries pointed at me.

 

'HOW?! How is this girl insanely seductive and enticing one moment, and utterly adorkable the next.’

 

SAM chimed in on our private channel, “Well, Ms. Blackwood. It appears you  **are** in love.”

 

“Quiet, you.” I said (over the channel, mind) smiling.

* * *

 

<Alternative>

 

“Hardly. You have taken extremely good care of me for the past day. This is the least you deserve. I will definitely pay you back further.” She told me, holding me at arm's length, hands on my shoulders, thumbs tracing my collarbones, a gentle giggle gracing my ears. My breathing picked up. 'She really doesn’t know what she’s doing to me, huh?’ Muna started to lean in, and my heart started racing. 

 

“Traditionally, people are rewarded for good deeds. I think it is appropriate to reward you as such.”

 

“What—” I barely managed to get out before she kissed me. Time seemed to stop, our environs fading into non-existence. All I could focus on was the feeling of her hands. One cupping my face, the other still on my collarbone. Recovering from my surprise, I kissed her back. At that point I noticed I was apparently crying. Releasing everything I had pent up inside for nearly 21 years. Fear that I wouldn't find love, the insecurities I had from years of emotional abuse, internalized homophobia, resistance to getting close to anyone. Stress from everything that had taken place in last 48 hours. All of it, gone. All in one moment. She pulled back first, both hands now around the back of my neck, thumbs trailing along my  chiselled jawline. 

 

“What happened, did I do something wrong?” She asked, very worried.

 

“I should think not.” I brought her in for another kiss, this becoming my new favorite thing. She laughed as we were kissing. Due to stupid oxygen requirements, we had to pull apart. 

 

“What… does this mean? What does this make us?” Muna said after a few moments, heads still touching. 

 

“I don't know, whatever we want, I suppose.” I replied, handing her some fries, which were only a little cold. I gave her a little peck on the cheek, and we finished our dinner before heading off to my bedroom to close the night out.

 

</Alternative>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to throw a little something cute as heck in there. it didn't actually happen though


End file.
